


Five Feet from the Mistletoe

by Weatherbug02



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Fluff, Awkward Family Dinners, Christmas Dinner, Dog Chewbacca, F/M, Funnily enough there's actually no mistletoe, Making Up, Post-Break Up, Snowball Fights, questionable decisions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 04:05:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17480834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weatherbug02/pseuds/Weatherbug02
Summary: Maintain eye contact.Assert dominance.She’s my mother now, bitch.“Hi, Ben.”***Or, in which Rey and Ben aren't together anymore, but that doesn't keep her from joining the Organa-Solo family Christmas dinner.





	Five Feet from the Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Riverspirit86](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riverspirit86/gifts).



> Hola mi amigos y bienvenido to a fic that i wrote literally a month ago, completely forgot to publish, and am now posting after Christmas because I am a pendeja.

Alright, so maybe it wasn’t her  _ best _ idea in the world.

(And, okay, maybe it was a little bit petty.)

But was it really her fault Leia Organa was a much more well-adjusted person than her son?

*

Their breakup had been over five months ago, and Rey was totally over it. Ben Solo was gone from her life without a trace, and, honestly, she’d never been more happy. The tears she’d cried over him were no more, just fragments of memories tucked away in the back of her mind, never to be seen again. But it was fine. 

That didn’t mean she didn’t miss things though. She missed when he bought her food or the TV shows they used to binge on her sofa or how he braided her hair because, God, he was really good at that. She didn’t miss him (not a bit), but she did miss  _ things.  _

And among those things happened to be his family.

There weren’t much of them, but the time she’d spent sitting at their mahogany dinner table with food all around was some of the best memories anyone could’ve come up with for an orphan like her. The rumble of laughter when someone forgot a dish, the crackle of the fire while everybody watched obligatory Christmas movie, the family picture in front of the Christmas tree on Christmas morning. Yeah. Yeah, she missed that part.

But only that part.

And maybe his family too.

Okay,  _ especially,  _ his family because, man, Rey might’ve been over  _ him, _ but she wasn’t over the loving, gracious souls that were Leia Organa and Han Solo. Through the five years (Had they really been together that fucking long?) that their son and Rey dated, they’d become more like real parents than hers had actually been. And the fact that that was all taken away now that their stupid son had broken up with her? Now, that was the injustice.

She was over him for sure, and he absolutely wasn’t the reason she made the call.

*

Christmas Eve dinner was a bit of an ordeal at the Organa-Solo household, all courtesy of none other than Leia Organa herself. Rey arrived at noon, wearing the Christmas sweater Leia had given her years ago and always smiled at when she saw her wearing it. That was what this night was about: being there for the family she’d come to care for. Nothing else.

“Rey!” Leia had gasped the moment the door swung open and immediately pulled her in for a hug. “It’s so nice to see you! How long has it been?”

She smiled and pulled away from the woman’s grasp a bit to avoid hunching over due to their vast height difference. 

(There had been a conversation what felt an eternity ago about how his and Rey’s children were going to tower of Leia, as if it were a sure thing they were having kids. At the time, it had been to them. Or to her. She wasn’t really sure anymore. Not that it mattered.)

“It’s been absolutely too long. I’m just so glad you invited me back this year.”

Leia shook her head and held open the door for Rey as she walked in, shutting it softly behind them. The house was sparkling already, wooden floors looking freshly waxed and curtains pulled back to allow the light reflecting off the snow to fall back in the place. Leia, herself, was dressed in sweats as she always was in the hours before the big dinner. An inspiration for generations. “Like I wouldn’t invite my favorite girl back for the holidays. You would’ve been welcome back for Thanksgiving as well, but until I received your call, I wasn’t sure if you still considered us a part of your life.”

Right. The call. The one she’d made behind  _ his _ back on Thanksgiving Day. It wasn’t like he had to know. What she and his mother got up to was their business, not his. “Sorry. I just wasn’t sure if everything was okay, you know? I mean, since we broke up, it’s been… weird.”

Leia rolled her eyes as Rey slipped off her jacket, hanging it on the coat rack next to the door, as well as shedding her snowy boots. “I still can’t believe my idiot son broke up with the only girl that was ever able to tolerate him, let alone love him.”

“He’s coming tonight, right? He doesn’t care at all that I’m here?”

A hum. “Oh, of course not. Not at all.”

*

(They broke up on a phone call.)

_ “I don’t think this is working anymore.” _

(They lived together, and he didn’t even bother saying it face to face.)

_ “I need some time.” _

(She thought they were going to get married someday.)

_ “I’m sorry.” _

(He wasn’t.)

*

Han Solo was an interesting sort, an expert at a vast array of things, but of all his talents, the one Rey was most in awe of was his unprecedented ability to make the most delicious fucking pies in the entire world. It didn’t matter what flavor or ingredient. If you gave Han Solo an apron and a kitchen, dreams came true.

That was exactly what he was doing the moment Rey walked into the kitchen, immediately getting hit with the scent of a vast array of food. Ham, potatoes, casseroles, endless perfection presented by way of the greatest meal of the entire year. Yeah, this was definitely the reason she came back.

“Hey!” he shouted once he noticed her presence, ceasing his rolling out the dough to move and hug her. “Great to see you again! How you been, kiddo?”

This wasn’t anything like it was supposed to be. Rey was expecting… awkwardness from his parents, not being welcomed back with arms as open as they’d been when she and their son  _ had _ been together. “I’m good, great, actually. Everything’s been going swimmingly.”

Han waved a hand at her as he went back to wash his hands. “‘Swimmingly.’ See, Leia, I told you at the beginning she was too smart for him. How’s the break-up? The kid leave you alone?”

“Han,” Leia warned.

Rey just shook her head. “Really, it okay. It’s kinda weird saying this to you both, but I’m over him. Our relationship was good while it lasted, but it’s over. No hard feelings harbored. Right now, I’m just trying to focus on myself, my job, and family. That includes you guys.”

Han merely gave a glum nod, but Leia… she couldn’t read the expression on her face, but within a few seconds, it vanished. 

*

She was still able to remember exactly what he was wearing when they first met: A black turtleneck sweater that she ended up throwing out years later in secret because it made him look like a prick. Which he was, but nobody else needed to know that. He was smug then, not quite matured, but then neither was she, and despite a rocky start and a few yelling matches in the beginning, they just seemed to have clicked.

And Rey was happy. Despite everything and the growing up they both did together, she really was happy right up until… 

It didn’t matter. She was still happy without him. She was.

*

It would’ve been much easier to have just gotten it over with immediately, when she’d walked through the door, but, of course, he had to have been the last person to arrive. Even  _ Lando Calrissian, _ the man who’d shown up late to his own birth (or so he’d said) was here, but still no trace of Rey’s ex. Not that she was looking for him. They just couldn’t start dinner without everyone present, and the man was always inconsiderate.

“How you holding up, kiddo?” Lando asked with his arm draped across the shoulder, not touching her but still close enough. “You over the guy yet?”

It was the third time the question had come up in the past few hours, and Rey had to resist rolling her eyes. “Yeah, I’m great.”

“I’m sure you are.”

“What’s  _ that _ supposed to mean?”

Lando shrugged and slid his arm back into place. “Nothing, nothing. I’m just saying it’s not easy getting over someone you’ve dated for so long so quickly. Not that I would know or anything.”

“Sure, not that you would know.” She elbowed him gently, and he laughed. “No, no, really, it’s not a big deal. I know it’s weird that I’m here, but I think it’ll be fine.”

“He knows you’re here?”

“Yeah, Leia told him.”

Lando hummed and glanced toward the kitchen before shaking his head. “Interesting. Very interesting.”

*

“You’re an asshole.”

“Say it again.”

She stayed silent, refusing to give him what he wanted out of this. She wouldn’t give in, not when he was in the wrong again. “Make me.”

“You wish.”

He was close, so close Rey was able to feel his breath on her skin, and she tried to ignore the heat flooding her cheeks. “Like hell I do.”

“Leave then if that’s what you want.”

She stayed put.

The night ended in their bed, her arms wrapped around him as he pressed his back into her chest. “I don’t want you to leave,” he whispered into the darkness.

“I won’t.”

*

Even Luke Skywalker, Leia’s hermit brother, asked about the breakup, to which Rey just sighed and explained just as she had before. The man had never given her much attention before at all, but she had heard the stories of him and her ex’s tumultuous relationship, and it didn’t give her a good opinion on the man, though she wasn’t sure anything coming from his mouth was to be believed anymore.

And that begged the question, was he even going to show up?

Leia was pacing around the corridor, kitten heels clacking against the floor. Rey almost spoke up, but something told her that wasn’t a good idea. “You’d think the boy would finally learn some manners? I swear, Rey. The only reason he ever showed up anywhere was because of y—” She didn’t get to finish that sentence because right then, there was a knock on the door. “Damn it.”

Rey repeated a string of curses in her head as Leia opened the door and held her breath when she saw the first outline of his frame. He looked just the same as he had when he’d left—or, at least the back of him did. His hair might’ve been a bit longer, and, fuck, she swore every time that he got taller, but other than that, he was the same, and she wasn’t sure if that was what she would have preferred.

“It took you long enough,” Leia said as she snatched the packages from his arms and made her way into the living room to put them under the tree. “I was just about to tell everyone to eat.”

A mumble. “You should have.”

Rey watched from the corner as he hung up his jacket and stepped into the living room. She waited and waited, but their eyes didn’t make eye contact, which was… strange. If her ex showed up at a Christmas party he definitely was  _ not _ supposed to be at, she most definitely would’ve been seeking them out to pick a fight if nothing else. Still, though, his eyes were trained on the floor as he gave tense greetings to Lando and Luke.

It wasn’t until he reached down to give Chewie, the family dog that never ever seemed to die, a pat that his eyes settled on her shoes. Then her dress. Then her eyes. 

He jerked up with his hands balled into fists. “What are you doing here?”

Rey didn’t even need to contemplate the question because  _ of course _ Leia had lied in order to get her son, the token introvert that never wanted to come to these things by choice even when they were together, to actually show up, and she was tempted to turn to the woman and face the knowing look she was sending them, but she continued the staring contest without hesitance.

Maintain eye contact.

Assert dominance.

_ She’s my mother now, bitch. _

“Hi, Ben.”

*

Their firsts were among some of the best memories. 

Their first kiss happened at 4am in a three-stall bathroom of a Waffle House in upstate New York. Her shirt was stained bright purple, he tasted like syrup with just a little too much cinnamon, and they didn’t leave until the manager yelled at them to pay their bill.

Their first time was a bit more romantic, and she always cherished the memory of them losing their virginities on that cold November morning after he’d slept over for the first time. He was her one and only from that night on, she decided.

Their first big fight was somewhat of an event, but as she sat in the bathroom with tears in her eyes, he apologized through the door for all the things he didn’t do and none of the things he did. Maybe she shouldn’t have forgiven him, forgiven the simple things he was too inconsiderate to have even thought of, but he was always the most satisfying in her arms.

*

Leia sat them across from each other during dinner for some godforsaken reason, and Rey could only smile as she asked him to pass the salt. He only did so begrudgingly. This wasn’t… exactly what she called fun, but seeing him squirm after the shit he pulled was close enough.

“So, Rey, what have you been up to lately?” Lando piped up. An innocent question with an ulterior motive, no doubt. “We have haven’t heard from you since last year. Anything interesting? Jobs, friends, boyfriends?”  _ There it is. _

She plastered on a fake smile for the sake of everyone at the table. “Well, I recently got promoted to ‘Cyber Security Analyst.’ It’s pretty intensive, but I’m really enjoying it thus far. Not a ton of times for friends this season, but any time we have spare time, I spend it with them. You know how hard the work-life balance is, I’m sure.”

He hummed and sipped his glass of wine. “Oh yes, of course. Interesting. Very interesting.”

Rey didn’t comment at that, just watching as Ben stabbed at another piece of ham with much more force than necessary. This was bugging him—the casual atmosphere, the fact that she was talking to  _ his _ parents—and she was only all the more satisfied. 

Maybe she was a horrible person. One had to be to have dated this guy that long.

No, that wasn’t fair. Ben Solo  _ was _ a good boyfriend, right up until he wasn’t. 

This time a year ago, they’d have been playing footsie under the table, and now she was accidentally kicking his shins. Accidentally.

“Ow, what the fuck?”

“Benjamin,” Leia warned.

“She kicked me, Mom.”

She rolled her eyes. “What are you, five? Of course Rey didn’t kick you. Get a grip.”

And okay, maybe it was a little childish, but the way he glared at her made her chest flutter like it hadn’t in months. Oh, it was going to be a fun night.

*

And their lasts were among the worst.

The one that stuck out the most was their last kiss, the last press of his hands against her body, the last look in his eye that said he loved her. He’d been on the way out the door to the airport for a business trip when she’d ran into his arms, and it was there that she was sure he was coming home.

And he had. To gather his things, to leave her in shambles.

*

“Rey, are you okay?”

She looked over at Han, who was busy at work spraying off the dishes and loading them up into the dishwasher, and smiled. “Yeah, why do you ask?”

“Because you’ve been drying the same plate for the last two minutes.”

Rey looked down as her cheeks warmed. She hadn’t even noticed how long she’d been staring out into the living room where Leia worked to get the movie started and Lando and Luke chuckled together and Ben… stood in the corner with his nose in his phone, his frown the tell-tale sign that this was the absolute last place he wanted to be.

(She never did like that look.)

“Sorry,” she mumbled out quickly, shaking her head. This was stupid. She was over him, very over him, but she was still staring at him like a lovestruck teenager, as if he hadn’t broken her heart. 

“Don’t apologize, kid.” Han elbowed her lightly and took the plate out of her hands. “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s going on? It’s not like you to look so… I don’t know how to describe it.”

Rey glanced out into the living room again before returning her eyes to Han’s. “I just… I don’t know. I came here to spend time with you all, and, yeah, I knew he was going to come, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this hard, you know?”

Han nodded handing her another dish to dry. “I get it, kid. Life’s rough, especially when it’s someone you’ve loved that long and it all comes crashing down. That’s the funny thing about love though—when you need it most, it feels like it’s never there.”

“I don’t need him.” She wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince Han or herself anymore. “I know he’s your son, but he doesn’t deserve me.”

“He doesn’t,” Han agreed immediately. “No one deserves you, Rey, because you are the best young lady I’ve met in a long time, and my son is probably the biggest dumbass in the entire world for letting you go, but if he ever wants to talk again, try to hear him out. For me.”

Rey sat the freshly-dried dish on the counter and reached for a new one. “Trust me, I doubt Ben’s  _ ever _ going to run back to me.”

*

They clung to each other during the movie, his grip around her tight as her head pressed against his shoulder. This was always her favorite part, aside from opening presents on Christmas morning.

After dinner, they settled down on the couches and chairs with blankets and pillows and mugs of hot chocolate and cookies to watch  _ Christmas Vacation. _ Rey always fell asleep on his shoulder without fail, the copious amounts of food getting the best of her, and by the end of the night, Ben carried her to bed and collapsed next to her until she shot up in the morning for presents.

It was here in this very house that she told him she loved him for the first time, the warmth of him against her a dizzying contrast against the cold air.

(He always did like his room cold.)

He’d smiled and pressed his lips against hers.

*

Rey sat next to Lando, which, by itself, was not bad, but when Ben was forced to sit on the  _ other _ side of her? Now that was a problem.

Except he wouldn’t know she thought it was a problem.

Because she was over him.

(She’d keep saying that until she believed it herself.)

So Rey sat with a lump in her throat the entire movie, eyes focused on the screen but brain focused on the fact that,  _ holy shit, _ he was right next to her, and if she moved her thigh far enough to the right, she was able to touch his, but no, that wasn’t okay because they were broken up, and that wasn’t what broken up people did. Well, ones that weren’t fucking stupid.

It only happened once.

Okay, three times, but the third one was an accident. (Mostly.)

And it wasn’t like he even noticed because, just like hers, his eyes were fixed on the screen, on the movie he’d seen more than twenty times. Not that she cared of enough to notice. No, she was too focused on whatever family was on TV doing whatever with Christmas lights, and definitely not on the thigh that was pressing closer or the fingers brushing her knee, and  _ no, _ it wasn’t fucking her this time.

Rey caught his eye, and he smirked.

_ This fucker. _

“I’m going to get some wine.” He stood up, shooting a glance back at her on his way to the kitchen.

She waited for a few seconds, sitting up straight as she considered her options, but anger was blooming in her chest and sitting there silently while he stood with that smug grin on his face was just  _ not  _ an option. 

Rey didn’t announce to anyone where she was going, but she figured they were able to read between the lines. She found him leaning against the counter with, as promised, a wine glass in hand. She shot him a smile as she opened a cabinet to get her own glass. “Excuse me,” she said, stopping in front of where he stood with his hand on the bottle of wine.

“Excuse you?”

_ So he’s playing this game? _ “Give me the wine.”

Ben hummed, tapping a finger on the bottle as his eyes drank her in. “You never did like to ask nicely, did you?”

“You think you’re so funny.”

“I do.”

Rey made a grab for the wine bottle, but he pulled it to dodge her grip. “Don’t be an asshole.”

“Why are you even here?”

_ Ah.  _ This was what he’d wanted her to follow him in here for, and she was just stupid enough to fall for it. “Because I can.”

“This is my family,” he hissed, voice low so nobody else could hear. “I’m not sure if you think this is funny, to—to fucking crash our Christmas to get back at me, but it’s not. You shouldn’t have come.”

“They’re  _ not _ only your family, Ben. They were mine just as much they were yours. I have nobody, and I’m not just letting you take them away from me just because you had a change of heart about us while you fucked some prostitute in Vegas.” She grabbed the wine bottle, but his hands still held it firmly in his. “Give me the bottle.”

He didn’t let go. “Is that… Is that what you think I did?”

She shook her head, huffing. “I don’t know, okay? When you didn’t tell me, I assumed the worst, and until I know the truth, that’s what I’ll always assume.”

“Rey—”

“Give me the wine, Ben.”

“No. No, I think we need to—”

Rey yanked the bottle in his hand back at her. “I swear to God—Fuck!” She jumped as his entire glass of wine spilled onto her clothes, watching as it stained a deep purple and dripped down onto the floor. “Jesus Christ, you asshole! Look what you did!”

“You’re the one who yanked the goddamn bottle!”

She just shoved him and twirled around, grabbing her purse off the counter. “Never mind. Screw you. Coming back was a mistake.”

“Where are you going?”

“Away from here!” she shouted, knowing all too well everyone in the living room was absolutely able to hear their entire conversation and not caring as much as she should’ve as she swung the door open. There were still things to do, traditions to continue, but nothing seemed more important than getting out of there with his eyes on her back as she shut the door behind her.

*

Rey made up stories in her head a lot when she was young.

Stories of brave heroes and the villains that were their equals. Sometimes the heroes won, but that was never the ending that satisfied her most. It was when the villain prospered and the story continued with twists that made her keep coming back for more.

And it was exciting as a child, having evil prevail until just before the last chapter, but the stories her adult mind made up weren’t nearly as nice as evil emperors and sullen anti-heroes. 

It wasn’t a business trip, she’d convinced herself one night. That had been a lie. He went to Vegas to find himself, having second-thoughts about her relationship, found somebody else, and decided Rey wasn’t good enough, pretty enough, smart enough, successful enough. She was nothing to him now. He didn’t care.

Someone who did care didn’t break up with their partner of five years in a two-minute phone call.

*

Except she was never given the chance to slam that door because he was walking out behind her, bare feet crunching under the new-fallen snow.

“Rey.”

She took a step back to distance herself from him and reached down to gather some snow into a ball before throwing it in his face. Everyone in the house was likely spying on them through the windows, and she didn’t need them getting any wrong ideas about this. “What?”

Ben wiped his face and snorted. “Did you just throw snow at me?”

She threw another, this time hitting him in the arm. “Maybe I did. What are you gonna do about it?”

Another thrown snowball later, he rolled his eyes. “Please talk to me.”

Another toss. “Why should I?”

Ben pressed his lips together and looked down at his feet, which definitely needed some coverage pronto, but it wasn’t like he was known for his smart decisions in life. “You probably shouldn’t, but… I’d like it if you did.”

Rey narrowed her eyes at him before lowering the snowball in her hand, crossing her arms. “Fine. Talk.”

“We can’t go inside?”

“Talk.”

He huffed, vapor from his breath forming in the cold, winter air. “Okay, how I broke it off was not done on the best of terms, and I don’t want to make excuses about it, but I’d like to make it clear that I was not fucking a prostitute in Vegas, alright? I wasn’t fucking anybody. In fact, I wasn’t even in Vegas.”

_ Figures. _

“I was here.”

“Here?” At his parents’ house? The place they go every year together. And he hadn’t even bothered to tell her about it. “Why the fuck would you lie about that?”

“Yeah. A few days before, I… got fired from my job. I didn’t want to tell you because I was so disappointed in everything, in myself, and then after spending some time alone here, I had some shitty revelations that I just couldn’t shake. I was convinced that I was a failure, a horrible boyfriend, that you’d be better off without me, so I just made this stupid, impulsive decision and called you, and… you have no idea how much I regret, but I couldn’t just call you and beg to get back together after I left you like that. Because we’re better off without each other, right?”

That was what she’d kept telling herself.

“We aren’t,” Rey whispered in spite of herself.

“We aren’t,” Ben affirmed, nodding. “I wish I hadn’t been so stupid. I think about what happened every single day, about you every single day, but I’ve just been so terrified. So terrified.”

“You’re an asshole,” she said with tears in her eyes but no malice in her voice. “You’re an asshole for doing that, and I shouldn’t forgive you.”

“I am an asshole, and you shouldn’t forgive me. It’s the least I deserve.” 

Rey’s lip was quivering as she dropped the snowball on the ground. “But I miss you, and I don’t want to keep pretending I don’t care about you.” Not giving him a chance to answer, she closed the few feet of gap between them and wrapped her arms around him.

*

“It’s okay.”

She imagined him whispering it to her at night sometimes, pretending that maybe their separation was a dream, that he’d never left, that somehow everything was just a figment of her imagination. 

But it wasn’t okay, and she’d almost accepted that fact. Almost.

*

“Benjamin Organa-Solo, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Leia shouted as soon as they stepped foot in the house again, Ben’s feet red from the snow outside. “Both of you need to get changed before I need to cut your toes off from frostbite. Go!”

Rey knew she saw the hand that was slid into her son’s but was grateful about the lack of comment as he dragged her upstairs. She followed, her heart fluttering for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, and tried to contain bursting out into nervous giggles when he shut his bedroom door behind them.

“We don’t need to be in here.”

“We don’t,” he murmured, pulling her into his arms, and Rey just stood there, holding him to her like the lifeline she’d needed the past few months. “But I want quiet, just for a second.”

(Quiet from the movie, his family, the fucking crazy venture this was. All of the above.

She understood. She really did.)

“Will you kiss me again? Like you used to?” The question slipped out before she could stop it, but Ben didn’t even look caught a bit off guard, simply smiling and squeezing her hips.

“Are you sure?”

She was. She didn’t need to think twice about it. “Ben, all those months I spent away from you were some of the worst of my life, and now that we’re… beginning to fix things, I can’t think of anything I want more than for you to kiss me right now.”

He choked out a laugh, but one that was tinged with sadness too. “Okay.”

*

He woke her up to kisses the next morning, just like he used to.

They sat next to each other as Han and Leia glanced at them with knowing looks, cycling out the presents to each of them. None were from each other, but that didn’t matter anymore.

At the end of the day, Rey’s hand was clasped in Ben’s as they sat in front of the fire, Han and Leia nowhere to be found. 

No words were said, but she could feel them. She could.

This house belonged to her just as much as it belonged to him. There was no difference because in the end, the real home they found was in each other.

**Author's Note:**

> So that was that. Hoped you guys liked it???? I should have another oneshot coming soon!!
> 
> Follow my Tumblr (tho who has one anymore): https://reyloday.tumblr.com


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